I'm starting to feel a bit more my usual self. It's been a very lonely summer at times without my little dog shadow at my side but I'm starting to grow around the grief, to let it settle and be part of my life, not my entire life.
Cooking new things and thinking about food hasn't really been on my agenda lately due to aforementioned reasons but part of getting back to the usual is getting back into the kitchen. This week I baked a tea loaf based on a recipe from WW2 rationing and made carrot and miso soup from Smitten Kitchen for dinner. The tea loaf was excellent though I must give considerable credit to the lovely tea from Betty's that I used to soak the fruit in. The soup was also good despite carrot not being my favourite soup...such a shame as they're so cheap! I might try a more thai inspired flavour profile next time...
On Monday I made pulled pork in the slow cooker using the recipe from Poppy's Actually Delicious Slow Cooker (lives up to name, very good) which we've used on loaded fries and toasties. I froze half to be used another time. Our freezer is crammed full at the moment so we definitely need to work our way through some things so I can make huge batches of marinara sauce, cookie dough and burritos.
For my birthday, I splurged on a proper cold brew kit from Rave Coffee using a friend's referral code so we got an extra nice discount. The last time I attempted cold brew, I was under the belief any coffee would work...no. It doesn't. With the right stuff though, it's so good! Even my husband liked it which is saying something. We're keeping our food budget very strict at the moment which allows us to splash out a bit on nice things like coffee and butcher quality meat. I just wish I could find good, reliable local veg box scheme - I can't believe it's so difficult when I live surrounded by farms - if I want milk, eggs and meat...no problem but veg box schemes are either nationwide ones (I want to support local business) or don't cover my area but only just. Argh!
In other food related news, we've become a low alcohol household - no alcohol at home but the option to indulge in a drink if we're out - which to be honest, hasn't come up that much as we're being mindful about when we chose to drink. We drink to enjoy new things or as a treat. We've cut out fizzy drinks apart from a very rare lemonade too. This isn't to say we've seen huge changes, I think the foggy grief times that followed Lou's passing were tough and I've been flaring in an extremely unpredictable way...we're trying though and we'll keep getting back on that horse.
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